Global Media Journal México

ISSN: 2007-2031
Tecnológico de Monterrey

Morgner, Christian; Molina, Francesca R.

Media events and geo-cultural markets: narration and framing of the
2010 Chilean mining accident in newspapers in Chile, Mexico, and Spain
Global Media Journal México, vol. 15, no. 29, 2018, pp. 110-136
Tecnológico de Monterrey

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Media Events and Geo-Cultural Markets: Narration and Framing of the 2010 Chilean Mining… 110

Artículos

MEDIA EVENTS AND GEO-CULTURAL MARKETS:

NARRATION AND FRAMING OF THE 2010 CHILEAN
MINING ACCIDENT IN NEWSPAPERS IN CHILE,
MEXICO, AND SPAIN
Christian Morgner
University of Leicester, Reino Unido

Francesca R. Molina
University of Leicester, Reino Unido

Autor para correspondencia: Christian Morgner, e-mail: cm570@le.ac.uk

Abstract
This study examines media events from the perspective of geo-cultural markets by analyzing the media
frames utilized during print media coverage of the Chilean mining disaster of 2010 in newspapers from
Chile, Mexico, and Spain. The paper assesses the narratives, dynamics, and perspectives in two main
frames –love and heroes– to further our understanding of framing strategies in the Hispanic geo-
cultural market by addressing how geo-cultural markets can reinforce, localize or transcend
frameworks or differ internally. The aim is to problematize the apparent standardization of geo-cultural
markets and to analyze its differential occurrence in framing, identifying correlations and
dissimilarities among representations of the mining accident in the three nations. Also, the research
highlights the variables within each frame and their association with the cultural features of the Global
South, rendering the concept of framing more adaptable and flexible. Finally, the paper demonstrates
that frames of affection and emotion were highly influential in turning the Chilean mining disaster into
a media event.
Keywords: media events, framing, emotion, transnational

Resumen
Este estudio examina los eventos mediáticos desde la perspectiva de mercados geo-culturales al
analizar los encuadres mediáticos utilizados durante la cobertura de los medios impresos del desastre
minero chileno de 2010 en periódicos de Chile, México y España. El estudio evalúa las narrativas,
dinámicas y perspectivas en dos encuadres principales –amor y héroes– para profundizar nuestro
entendimiento de las estrategias de encuadre en el mercado geo-cultural hispano al abordar cómo los
mercados geo-culturales pueden reforzar, localizar o trascender los marcos de referencia o diferir
internamente. El objetivo es problematizar la aparente estandarización de mercados geo-culturales y
analizar su ocurrencia diferencial en los encuadres, identificando correlaciones y disimilitudes entre
las representaciones del accidente minero en las tres naciones. Además, la investigación destaca las

Global Media Journal México 15(29). julio - diciembre 2018. Pp. 110-136.
 Morgner & Molina 111

variables en cada encuadre y su asociación con las características culturales del Sur Global, haciendo
del concepto de encuadre uno más adaptable y flexible. Finalmente, el estudio demuestra que los
encuadres de afecto y emoción fueron altamente influyentes para convertir al desastre minero chileno
en un evento mediático.
Palabras clave: eventos mediáticos, encuadre, emoción, transnacional

Recibido: 27/08/2018
Aceptado: 09/01/2019

Introduction by a national television news provider as

There is growing research interest in media
events (Fox, 2016), including studies of major
sporting events, catastrophes, terrorist attacks,
royal weddings, presidential inaugurations, and
televised debates. However, most of this
research deals with events occurring in the
Western hemisphere or focuses on the coverage
in Western media. For instance, the well-known
publication by Dayan and Katz (1992)
principally addresses the wedding of Princess
Diana and the assassination of John F.
Kennedy; the only non-Western event in the
book concerns the peace negotiation between
Egypt and Israel but remains focused on media
coverage in the U.S.
There is also a tendency to discuss
media events that occur in the Global South
from a local versus global perspective. These
studies tend to highlight drastic or exotic
differences between media coverage in the
West and other parts of the world. One relevant
example is Jiménez-Martínez’s (2014)
examination of the Chilean mining accident,
which explored the media narrative constructed
compared to a global broadcaster. While
offering valuable insights at national and global
levels, Jiménez-Martínez’s analysis overlooked
an important issue: that beyond any underlying
notion of Chile as differing from the rest of the
world, these seemingly different narratives
might be a typical outcome of journalistic
practice, in which frameworks tend to be
localized and embedded in a region’s existing
mediascape. The present study addresses the
transnational dimension of media events from
the perspective of geo-cultural markets
(Straubhaar, 1991, 1997, 2007), which suggests
that certain regions share a common history,
language, and cultural orientation, shaping how
an event is likely to be received.
In particular, we focus here on the
catastrophe in Chile in 2010, when the San José
gold-copper mine in northern Chile’s Atacama
Desert collapsed, trapping 33 miners 700
meters underground. More than two weeks
later, a note was recovered, stating that the men
had found shelter and were alive. Research on
important media events has mostly overlooked
this catastrophe, which involved transnational
elements within a particular Hispanic geo-

Global Media Journal México 15(29). julio - diciembre 2018. Pp. 110-136.
Media Events and Geo-Cultural Markets: Narration and Framing of the 2010 Chilean Mining… 112
cultural market and therefore seems worthy of
investigation. When the accident happened in
2010, it could not have been predicted that the
event would attract such widespread news
coverage around the globe, not only in
newspapers in the Hispanic world but also in
North America, Europe, Australasia and even in
Asia. Our focus is on the geo-cultural market
facilitates more fine-grained analysis of cultural
and linguistic differences in media coverage,
without the risk of overestimating such
differences because they occur in seemingly
diverse cultural markets. The following
questions drive the research:
1. How was the media event framed
within its geo-cultural market (the
Hispanic world)?
2. What were the differences and
similarities in the reporting of this
event in this market?
3. How did this accident become a
media event?
Frame Analysis and Framing Disasters
Throughout its development, framing analysis
has become a reliable tool as part of a
theoretical approach to communication studies,
social movements and related policy studies
(D’Angelo & Kuypers, 2010). In its beginnings,
Goffman (1974) suggested that individuals
“Have the capacity and inclination to use
concrete, actual activities – which are
meaningful in their own right – as a model upon
which to work transformations for fun,
Global Media Journal México 15(29). julio - diciembre 2018. Pp. 110-136.
deception, experiment, rehearsal, dream,
fantasy, ritual, demonstration, analysis, and
charity” (p. 560).
Frames in communications serve as the
organizers, constructors and defining structures
of the ideas of a message: “Framing is the
process by which a communication source,
such as a news organization, defines and
constructs a political issue or public
controversy” (Nelson, Clawson & Oxley, 1997,
p. 221). It is, therefore, possible to say that
frame analysis functions as an instrument to
observe how people decode certain messages.
Bullock, Wyche, and Williams (2001) suggests
that framing is a powerful resource formed by
typically unnoticed devices affecting the
public’s judgments of responsibilities and
causes. Moreover, in order to validate and be
able to use a frame as a reliable reference point,
researchers have argued that frames ought to
have identifiable concepts and linguistic
features that can extend frame analysis into
discourse and semiotic analysis (e.g., Lozano,
Abril, Peña-Marín, 1993; Lozano, Peña-Marín,
Abril, 2004; Hansen & Machin, 2018). Van
Gorp (2007) maintained that a variety of
elements play a role in framing analysis, such
as reasoning devices, framing devices, frame
packages, and graphic representations. Frame
packaging consists of social meaning-making
strategies and how they are logically organized.
They are shaped by framing devices such as
language (word choice, similes, statements,
descriptive language, and visual images) and
reasoning devices (causes, consequences and
justifying comments).

Frames are a central part of a culture.
Culture in itself can have a defining role in
structuring a particular frame. Depending on
the perseverance of the frame, people’s views
and perceptions may be influenced. According
to Entman (1993), the cultural background of a
society is a determining factor in the reception
of different frames. In other words, frames rely
on the cultural aspects of a community to
function, and subsequently, it is possible to say
that frames flow and expand their branches
continuously throughout geo-cultural markets.
Most of the full range of definitions of
disaster (Perry, 2007) seem to emphasize a
physical impact on a human system that is
unplanned, surprising or accidental. Disaster
prevention, therefore, tends to focus on creating
reinforced and more durable forms of
infrastructure and shelter or protection.
Similarly, disaster management emphasizes
technical and logistical support for the
communities affected by a tornado, earthquake
or flood. Under their accidental occurrence and
the physical damage and disruption they cause
to human systems, mining accidents are seen as
disasters. However, this quite technical
conception seems too general to make sense of
the case discussed here. The San José Mine has
a long history. Founded in 1889, it is located 45
kilometers northwest of Copiapó. Although it
had previously seen many fatal accidents and
had been closed at various times, none of these
closures became a media event. The first
question, then, is why the mining accident
discussed here was different. The suggested
answer is that the usual frames, which highlight
a disaster’s technical or natural dimension,
Global Media Journal México 15(29). julio - diciembre 2018. Pp. 110-136.
Morgner & Molina 113
were replaced by a media event frame that
focused on two aspects of emotional disruption:
love and heroes. The research suggests that
these frames were supported by being
embedded in a specific geo-cultural market.
While the love frame can be seen to signify a
personal or family-like relationship between
like-minded people, the hero frame has a
transcending quality, uniting people from Latin
America in their struggle against such forms of
adversity as political suppression, corruption,
and poor leadership.
Methodology and Data Collection
To address the research questions, frame theory
was considered the most appropriate approach,
encompassing word selection, descriptions,
arguments, metaphors, images and captions and
enclosing a wider range of events, including
disasters (Entman, 1991). As stated by Reese,
Gandy, and Grant (2008), within framing
analysis, frame theory engages more than
content or discourse analysis with the cultural
setting. According to Janssen (2010, p. 24),
“reasoning devices are explicit and implicit
statements that deal with justifications, causes,
and consequences.” This is relevant here, as the
Chilean mining accident was a local event that
reached beyond geographical and cultural
boundaries in attracting global attention. With
this in mind, the present investigation sought to
establish whether the differences in framings
across publications could be described in
quantitative as well as qualitative terms. The
Media Events and Geo-Cultural Markets: Narration and Framing of the 2010 Chilean Mining… 114
framing disaster approach enabled us to explore
the components of the transnational element of
the event as part of the local news within each
of the other two countries (Mexico and Spain)
representing the Hispanic geo-cultural market.
The approach comprehends similarities and
differences in the messages delivered in the
three countries, as well as analyzing the
distinctive meanings, contexts and underlying
agendas communicated by these newspapers.
For this research, three national
newspapers (one from each country) were
chosen: Las Últimas Noticias from Chile, La
Jornada from Mexico and El País from Spain,
all of which covered the mining event
throughout two and a half months. These
publications were selected because of their
national readership and circulation, and because
they present varied journalistic perspectives;
for instance, El País is slightly conservative and
La Jornada more liberal. The publications were
reviewed for the period from the occurrence of
the accident in August, 2010 through
September and October, of that year.
To facilitate a comparable qualitative
analysis, a collection of news reports was
gathered for each of the sixty-nine days (August
th th
5 , 2010-October 13 , 2010) on which the
event was reported, and all stories (more than a
hundred articles) from each newspaper were
read. All newspapers were available in print.
The analysis focused on the specific dates on
which the event gained prominence: the
beginning (initial media coverage of the
collapse of the mine); the development (thirty-
three miners found alive); the climax (digging
machinery getting closer to the men); and the
Global Media Journal México 15(29). julio - diciembre 2018. Pp. 110-136.
conclusion (the rescue and the miners’ return to
the surface). This strategy was adopted because,
during the process of reporting the mining
accident, some items were either summary of
the previous days or intertwined other news
events with coverage of the miners (such as the
political protests reported during one week in
Las Últimas Noticias). Additionally, no
relevant articles appeared on certain dates in La
Jornada and El País. All quotes presented here
were translated from the Spanish original and
further reviewed by the relevant researcher to
maintain the language’s accuracy and to
preserve its intended meaning.
Findings
The Love Frame: Emotional Disruption and
the Formation of Relationships
The analysis of media coverage across the three
selected newspapers revealed a shared ‘love
frame,’ which they developed similarly
throughout the event regarding language,
quotes, and selection of stories. This can be
seen to make sense within the idea of a Hispanic
geo-cultural market, as Chile, Mexico, and
Spain share that historical and cultural
background. The analysis found that the main
difference between these countries was in the
timing, intensity and quantity of usage of this
frame, which seems to vary at different stages:
before and after the miners were found alive,
and in the periods before and following their
rescue. The frame’s development followed

three stages. In the initial stage, there was a
more local focus, notably in Chile’s Las
Últimas Noticias (LUN). This frame created a
priming effect that was subsequently picked up
by the Mexican newspaper La Jornada and the
Spanish El País as an extended and developed
love frame. During the third stage, El País and
LUN reported romantic love stories between the
miners and their partners to a similar extent. In
La Jornada, this type of narrative was less
evident, providing scope for new frames that
would extend the narrative, creating a network-
like structure (Morgner, 2016). We propose that
the love frame offered a new perspective on
disasters and effectively served as a narrative
guide, stimulating subsequent frames
developed in other regions. However, once the
frame was established, it created an event
powerful enough to reinvent and maintain itself
through the creation and interlinking of new
frames.
Love Frame, First Stage: Agape
In itself, love can be considered a diverse
concept, which has been argued to include
complex metaphorical conceptions. The ancient
Greeks described agape love as ‘charitable
love’ (Liddell & Scott, 2010). Subsequently,
the term’s meaning extended to a love that is
reciprocal among humans (Hoiberg, 2010).
Martinovsky (2010) has suggested that the
Global Media Journal México 15(29). julio - diciembre 2018. Pp. 110-136.
Morgner & Molina 115
empathic emotions found in discursive and
linguistic features lead to social behaviours that
are emotive in nature. This occurs by a process
of association in which existing experiences
already carry certain meaning; when they
encounter similar representations, whether in
the form of words, symbols, visual images or
sounds, they connect, and these original
experiences are revisited or relived. The use of
emotive language in dealing with a catastrophic
event seems to appeal to human empathic
emotions, and the media framing of this
narrative into defined love frames can therefore
reach a wider audience.
In the early coverage of this event, the
first stage Agape love frame appeared almost
naturally in Chile as the accident location. In
LUN, this emotive language recurred in the
headlines and sub-headlines of most early
reports, which tended to focus on rescue efforts
and the uncertainty of finding the 33 miners
alive. Family members and rescue workers
gathered around the mine were quoted
repeatedly; in LUN, the selected quotes often
contained such words or phrases as hope,
sadness, lost, desperation, crying, reunited,
despair, distress, being strong, resilience,
anguish, unbearable, pain and waiting,
accompanied by use of the conditional tense in
verbs such as could, should, may and might, and
wording like it is possible, unknown, difficult,
yet.
Media Events and Geo-Cultural Markets: Narration and Framing of the 2010 Chilean Mining… 116

Table 1: Love Frame: First Stage

Source: LUN

“The agonising hours of 34 men trapped in the centre of a mountain” (August 7th, 2010, front cover
headline).

“Small shelter is the only hope for 33 men” (August 7th, 2010, front cover).

“Inconsolably crying families after hearing of possible failure of rescue efforts of their loved ones”
(August 8th, 2010, p. 2).

“At hour 14, there was despair […] first it was a whisper, then a piercing sound of tears and crying
in the saddest moment of all” (August 13th, 2010, p. 4).

“Rescue worker: when I saw the rock, I felt I was going to cry…I felt so sad looking at everyone
around me […] they were hopeful and now it seems more difficult to find them alive, it hurts” (August
17th, 2010, p. 3).

“Anguish amongst miner’s families as time is running out” (August 20th, 2010, p. 8).

This lexicon (Table 1) tends to be used conditional language, as factual information

in the initial stages of reporting and framing takes time to appear. The choice of language
disasters. It can be found in reports of reflects a more general type of love framing:
earthquakes, hurricanes and natural events in humans feeling compassion and sympathy for
which estimates of death and damage use other humans.

Figure 1. Building Relationships and Emotive Reactions

Source: LUN August 10th, 2010 (front cover) and LUN August 8th, 2010 (front cover).

Global Media Journal México 15(29). julio - diciembre 2018. Pp. 110-136.

In another example, from August 8th, 2010,
LUN’s main front cover headline highlights the
“desperation of the families, who crying and
holding each other, despair about this tragedy”
(see Figure 1). The image portrays a man and a
woman in visible distress; she is crying, and he
appears to be consoling her with an embrace. A
further three full pages are dedicated to news of
the mining accident. On August 12th, 2010,
according to LUN (p. 6), “The day a policeman
cried together with the miner’s families,”
followed by a caption and a subheading: “The
tough sergeant could not contain his emotions.”
The language aligned with an emotive narrative
concerning the improbability of finding the 33
miners alive. Again, it seemed to appeal to the
audience’s empathic emotions in relation to
loss, uncertainty and closure.
Framing analysis suggests that not all
frames are of equal status (Levin, Schneider &
Gaeth, 1998). In particular, frames that emerge
early may have a decisive quality that prime the
development of meta-frames into which
subsequent media reports can be integrated,
which seem to regulate overall narration of the
event (Iyengar & Simon, 1993; Brewer, Graf, &
Willnat, 2003; Schultz, Kleinnijenhuis,
Oegema, Utz, & Van Atteveldt, 2012). As will
be demonstrated in the next section, this first
frame was reinforced through embedding into a
transnational (i.e. Latin-American) context of
shared feelings and so had a crucial effect on
media coverage in other countries. As
international newspapers initially had limited
Global Media Journal México 15(29). julio - diciembre 2018. Pp. 110-136.
Morgner & Molina 117
access to the event, they depended on media
coverage originating in Chile.
Love Frame, Second Stage: Pragma and
Storge
Storge and pragma love are linked through
shared meanings. Hooper (2005) characterized
these definitions of love in terms of “strong
affections between family members, friends,
companions and underpin exceptional desires
to care compassionately for one another.”
Pragma has been defined as love that develops
between a couple over time by working on the
relationship and showing patience and
tolerance (Krznaric, 2014). In the second stage,
the stories selected by the three newspapers
contained references and written material
quoting the miners’ family members, relatives
and friends. In their consistent use of emotive
language, the linguistic repertoire of these
interviewees appeared in keeping with the
seriousness of the event. As mentioned
previously, this part of the frame gained
prominence after the miners showed signs of
being safe in the refuge. The first contact
between the miners and their relatives was
through an exchange of letters; subsequently,
the miners were given cameras to record
messages. While most of this material was kept
private, some videos were broadcast
exclusively by the Chilean news before being
passed on to other providers, and reporters used
interviews with relatives to gather information
for publication.
Media Events and Geo-Cultural Markets: Narration and Framing of the 2010 Chilean Mining… 118

Table 2: Love Frame: Second stage

Source: LUN

“Miner took the opportunity to say he loves his wife” (August 23th, 2010, p. 3).

“We are very happy—greetings to my wife, children and friends” (September 1st, 2010, p. 3).

Source: El País

“…this is equivalent to the birth of a son, said an emotional rescue worker” (23 August 2010,
International p. 3).

“In all (Chilean) homes, tears of happiness and joy were found” (August 26th, 2010, International, p.
4).

Source: La Jornada

“Families had the chance to speak on the phone (with miners); those were moments of great joy”
(August 30th, 2010, World, p. 31).

Quotes containing the miners’ views and
perceptions and their interactions with relatives
and friends constituted an important part of the
pragma love frame in this second stage of
reporting. Most of the articles printed daily in
LUN and El País (and fairly regularly in La
Jornada) included selected quotes relating
people’s perceptions and views as soon as there
was any development (Table 2). Personal
stories and insights into the lives of the miners,
as well as the whereabouts of family members,
were highlighted on most days. As in LUN, El
País and La Jornada included quotes from the
miners’ wives in their reports, expressing their
concerns and “hoping to be reunited as soon as
possible” with the men. The love frame was
embedded in a wider network of media
messages, using this personalized approach to
capture the significance of the incident. In this
way, the event established a shared sense of
individual experience in the public sphere. In
other words, the emphasis on individual
relationships established a point of reference
that extends beyond any differences by which
we identify ourselves and those around us.
Within the framework of the media event, this
has the effect of creating the impression of
actual directness, of a participating intimacy or
“a kind of immediate personal involvement”
(Ong, 2002, p. 502).
Reports in LUN contained numerous
individual and collective stories about the
relatives and family-related issues. In these
reports, each miner and their relatives were
referred by name and surname. Abandoning the
anonymity of the first stage, the connection
with the audience now became closer, as the
reader was presented with a more open
cognitive concept. The pragma and storge love
frame features more mixing up generic with
personified emotional language, as in LUN’s
August 17th, 2010 edition: “María, José Ojeda’s
wife, sits down and inconsolably cries she
manages to speak: ‘I want to be sure they are
okay, it is all very hard’.” In this second and last
remaining stage, proper names were also used

Global Media Journal México 15(29). julio - diciembre 2018. Pp. 110-136.
 Morgner & Molina 119

in quotes in La Jornada and El País. In this This was followed by a description of

way, the personal element was supported by a
feeling of belonging and relationship within a
cultural sphere that seems to share these
feelings and a common understanding of the
situation. It was here that further connections
started to develop between the countries, as
interest and access to the event grew. For
instance, on August 23rd, El País printed a quote
from one of the wives, who read part of a letter:
“give many kisses to my children and
grandchildren [tell them] I love them, [tell
them] to be calm. For you, my biggest love, I
love you so much. We will be happy forever
together with our family; we will see each other
soon, bye my darling, I love you” (El País,
2010).
the miner who wrote the letter as a cheerful and
stoic man, along with the names and age of his
partner. Details of relationships were
commonly given, including how long a couple
had been married and other family information.
In the same way, La Jornada used quotes that
aligned with the pragma love framing—for
example, a miner’s wife was quoted as saying
“I am going to wait as long as needed to see my
husband again—Lilianet Ramirez.” In another
example, a miner’s cousin said “hope was never
lost, we just have to wait a little longer—
Arnoldo Plaza” (La Jornada, August 23rd,
2010, p 2).

Figure 2. Emotive Expressions

Source: LUN August 10th, 2010, p. 2; LUN August 17th, 2010, p. 10.

Global Media Journal México 15(29). julio - diciembre 2018. Pp. 110-136.
Media Events and Geo-Cultural Markets: Narration and Framing of the 2010 Chilean Mining… 120
Pictures of the families’ improvised camp
around the mine were also used regularly in
support of this frame, with close-ups of
people’s faces, highlighting their expression.
Captions frequently contained words, phrases,
similes and metaphors such as hope, joy, care,
kisses, reunited, children, listening to voice of
loved ones, long wait, awaiting hugs, worry and
distance. Again, this narrative produced
emotions in the reader that might appeal to
human empathy, fetishism or either, instilling
curiosity or a desire to know more. As the
narrative became part of a broader narrative,
establishing relationships within the context of
a shared geo-cultural market, this affection had
a mobilizing effect. The personal and intimate
nature of emotions and own affections became
part of the shared narrative, presenting the
Hispanic world from the perspective of family
and community and reinforcing the love-frame
as the dominant narrative in this cultural
context. Limited initial access to the site meant
that international newspapers could at first
report only technical details and could not,
therefore, interfere with the development of the
dominant frame. On the contrary, Western
newspapers adopted the love frame and so
extended the event beyond the Hispanic world.
Love Frame, Third Stage: Filial, Eros
and Cupid
During this stage, the Chilean and Spanish
papers made extensive use of the love frame but
also directed media coverage in the rest of the
world. Interviewing relatives became
compulsory as a method of collecting
Global Media Journal México 15(29). julio - diciembre 2018. Pp. 110-136.
information from primary sources. Many of the
daily reports in the newspapers featured stories
that fitted within a frame of filial and romantic
love. The concept of filial love has been defined
as “affectionate regard or virtue” towards
family members (e.g., parents to their children
and vice versa), or towards others considered as
such (Edwards, 1972). As well as framing
stories of this kind, these publications also
collected stories involving romance, as these
appeared popular among their readers. This
shaping can be seen mainly in the Chilean and
Spanish papers, both of which chose several
filial and romantic love stories and followed
them through even after the miners were
rescued.
Other examples of the filial love frame
included a shared story headlined “Miner meets
his new-born baby girl by video message” (El
País, September 15th, 2010, International, pp. 1-
4), which also featured in LUN as “Esperanza
was born, and she has 32 godparents
underground” (LUN, September 15th, 2010, p.
3). The story appeared in several subsequent
reports in both papers over the following days,
and a picture in El País featured the mother and
child, with the caption “Margarita, wife of Ariel
Ticona, with baby Esperanza (Hope).” The
baby’s name alluded to the name of the
improvised camp established by the families.
References to happiness, joy, and faith were
widely used to support the article. LUN
developed the story further with details of the
birth and the father’s reaction, featuring a report
on 20 September entitled “Esperanza met her
dad in San José mine (by video message).”
 Morgner & Molina 121

In a shared approach, El País and LUN
continued to make regular use of quotes in
referring to different romantic love stories.
Headlines included similes such as “we are
living our honeymoon, let's wait and see what
happens [in October],” referring to the time
when things would settle and reunions awaited
(on the notion of time in media events, see
Morgner [2017]). These two papers also
developed the narrative regarding the romantic
Eros and Cupid love frame, in the manner of a
soap opera or reality show (Table 3). Selecting
stories such as a love triangle between a miner,
his wife, and his mistress, they even involved
the Chilean president’s wife in the story. She
was quoted as saying “I was impressed with the
[official] lady; she told me she felt humiliated
when her husband (the miner) named them both
th
as emergency contacts” (El País, October 10 ,
2010, International, p. 1). The newspapers
exercised further dramatic license to write
detailed accounts of encounters between wives
and lovers; LUN dedicated its front cover and a
full-page article to this particular love story
(“Friends and neighbors tell the love story of
the most commented miner on the Internet”,
LUN, October, 15th, 2010, pp. 1, 2). In addition,
there was a clear geo-cultural connection in
LUN’s full-page report on October 22th,
entitled “Yonni showed his love to the world on
Spanish television,” followed by the caption
“Antena 3 special programme interviewed the
miner and his partner in Chile,” presenting a
thorough account of the romantic story and the
interest of Spanish viewers. These subplots
provided an additional element of
entertainment within the overall storyline of the
mining accident.

Table 3. Love Frame: Third stage

Source: LUN

“Miners’ partners are getting a makeover to wait for the rescue” (October 8th, 2010, p. 7).

“They (miners’ partners) are investing in hairdressing, wedding dresses and underwear” (October 8th,
2010, p. 7).

“He does not want to be the face of infidelity” (October 22nd, 2010, p. 2).

Source: El País

“Some fights among legal wives and lovers in camp Hope” (August 29th, 2010, International, p. 3).

“Miner receives letter from partner with marriage proposal […] he replied: we will talk when I am
out” (October 14th, 2010, International, p. 5).

Source: La Jornada

“Miner promised partner to buy wedding dress and to get married by the Church” (August 26th, 2010,
World, p. 22)

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Media Events and Geo-Cultural Markets: Narration and Framing of the 2010 Chilean Mining… 122

Strong use of the Eros love frame could also be
found in the El País report of October 15th, 80
% of which detailed romantic stories and
insights into the miner’s relationships,
involving dating, marriage, proposals, renewal
of vows, and particulars from primary sources
(in this case, the partners).
In comparison to the other two papers,
La Jornada deviated less from filial and
romantic quotes. Family members were still
referred to, although their quotes became much
shorter. Analysis of La Jornada during the last
stage of the Eros and Cupid love frame showed
little reference to romantic stories, with only
one small citation (Table 3).
Love Frame Differences within the Hispanic
World
The regularity of occurrence of the love frame
remained consistent throughout the event,
especially in LUN and El País, where it
appeared often and intensively. La Jornada
used the frame slightly less, especially during
the last stage. Geographical distance, as well as
the fact that natural accidents like earthquakes
and landslides often happen without further
significance, may well have influenced the
initial stages of news coverage. As the Spanish
and Mexican papers reported less news
information before the miners were found alive,
use of the love frame in the first stage was
limited in both. Once it became known that the
miners were alive, the love frame became
prominent in the second stage in all three
papers, with intense use of pragma and storge
love framing. The main differences can be
identified during the last stage, as LUN and El
País maintained their consistent use of the
romantic love frame while the use of the love
frame as a whole diminished in La Jornada and
if used at all aligned more with the pragma and
storge idea.

Table 4. Love Frame Differences

1. LUN 2. El País 3. La Jornada

“Ex-Cobresal player Caqui Related report not found “Chilean ex-football player,
Lobos trapped in mine for the Franklin Lobos Ramirez among
th
second time” (August 7 , 2010, workers” (August 25th, 2010,
p. 2) World, p. 27)

There were also differences regarding story
selection (Table 4). In one example, a miner’s
daughter described her father’s previous
survival following a mine collapse and his
former life as a nationally known footballer.
She was quoted as saying “my father is very
resilient. He will come out. This is the most
important ‘match’ of his life, and he will win it
[…] I won't give up hope that [they] will be
saved” (LUN, August 8th, 2010, p. 4). The quote

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was followed by a statement about the strength
of family unity and how the football match
metaphor relates to the challenges miners face.
The reason for this story’s inclusion may be that
football plays an important role in Chilean
society. The sport is followed and played
formally or informally by most of the
population (Informe de Prensa, 2010) and
occupies most of the sports pages in most
Chilean newspapers. This story also appeared
th
in La Jornada. On August 25 , a caption under
the main headline declared “Ex footballer is one
of 33 trapped in mine,” with a photograph of the
miner in question. The report used language and
a common lexicon similar to the Chilean paper
and again emphasized the miner’s sporting
background. Selected quotes had an element of
humor; “we wanted to send you a football, but
it does not fit in the tube” was attributed to the
miner’s daughter (La Jornada, August 25th,
2010, p. 2). In Mexican society, football is also
the preferred sport, as indicated by the same
paper’s sports section. This small story did not
receive the same attention in El País, where no
reference could be found. Although the Spanish
community follows football very carefully, the
love frame was developed differently in this
paper, as explained in the previous analysis.
Although the love frame played a dominant role
in the overall framing and narrative, this
confirms the absence of homogenous geo-
cultural media coverage. While geo-cultural
markets can transcend regional differences and
reinforce frames, they are also liable to localize
these frames, so embedding them in sub-
cultural markets at national, local and
individual levels.
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Morgner & Molina 123
Extension of the Event: Building
and Interlinking of New Frames
The third stage shows signs of exhausting the
love frame. However, its decline did not lead to
any sudden death of the media event. By that
time, the event had gained considerable media
attention, interrupting the daily flow of news
and acquiring weight of its own (Dayan & Katz,
1992). The event was on! Other research in this
field has pointed to the network-like quality of
events emerging from such conditions
(Morgner, 2016) as the importance of the event
may be extended and explored in other areas,
leading to the development of new frames. In
this regard, we will look in particular at the
‘heroes frame,’ with some brief remarks in
conclusion about a few other frames.
Construction of the Heroes Frame
The rise and decline of the love-frame opened
up new narrative possibilities. The research
identified two other frames: Hi-Tech frame and
Hero Frame. The study showed that a ‘Hi-Tech
frame' was driven a by a more factual narrative,
which was very similar across the three
newspapers including noticeable features like
technical acronyms, jargon specific to the
mining industry, slangs, metaphors, and
similes. Across almost 70 days of reporting, the
publications provided generally standardized
amounts of pictures, stories, quotations, and
references, making the ‘Hi-Tech framing’ a
very unswerving frame within the Hispanic
geo-cultural market that seemed to rely on
existing journalistic practices that employ such
Media Events and Geo-Cultural Markets: Narration and Framing of the 2010 Chilean Mining… 124
factual narratives. The present research paper,
therefore, seeks to demonstrate the
establishment of a shared ‘construction of
heroes’ frame, whose creation and legitimation
in the media relied on a connection with its geo-
cultural market. Whereas the love frame
established a connection through its personal
dimension and the Hi-Tech frame could rely on
the existing journalistic practice of factual
reporting, we will argue that the heroes frame
transcended national boundaries through its
links with the iconic image of the politicized
hero in the Hispanic world.
In contemporary society, the media
often refers to ‘modern-day heroes,’ often
related to personal achievements or the
universal admiration of others in the face of
adversity. In the case of the Chilean mining
accident, the media used the heroism concept to
frame the narrative, building on the idea of
ordinary workers as heroic figures, overcoming
reduced chances of survival, facing imminent
death and emerging as symbols of national
pride and international admiration. The analysis
revealed that a ‘construction of heroes’ frame
appeared within days of the 33 miners’ signs of
life and then developed steadily until they were
rescued. Across all three papers, the frame itself
was equivalent in structure, use of language and
quotes. However, the ‘construction of heroes’
frame was more readily identifiable in LUN and
El País, in three recognizable phases: initial,
developmental and concluding. In La Jornada,
the frame was less in evidence during the
developmental phase.
Global Media Journal México 15(29). julio - diciembre 2018. Pp. 110-136.
Primary phase: Towards building heroic
protagonists
Heroic figures can be found in every society,
past to present, from fictional tales to factual
historical accounts. So how does an ordinary
human being attain such status, and what
constitutes a hero? The concept presents several
possibilities; a hero for one may not be so for
another. Traditional definitions conceptualize
the hero as ‘[someone] who becomes admired
for his or her courage, outstanding
achievements, and noble qualities’ (Simpson,
2016). Historically, a hero has been thought of
as someone who has done something
extraordinary or unexpected, overcoming the
unthinkable and inspiring peers to follow their
exemplary behavior (Hook, 1955). For instance,
Grinin (2010) stated that a heroic figure could
be identified by a selection of attributes of an
individual or individuals within or around
specific situations, such as leadership,
performance, personality, and emotions.
Heroes stand out from the rest, in the sense that
others may be incapable of reacting in the same
way under similar conditions. Peers may feel
emotionally connected and seek to idolize their
heroes, rewarding them with respect, using
them as references and seeking to be associated
with them. The meaning and representation of
the hero has continued to evolve and may vary
between cultures and societies (Goethals &
Allison, 2012). In this case, the miners have
become heroes mainly because they overcame
tragedy and survived a calamity, linking them
to existing models of the politicized hero in the
Hispanic world (Brunk & Fallaw, 2006).
 Morgner & Molina 125

Table 5. Constructions of Heroes: Primary phase

1. LUN 2. El País
“What could be in the mind of the 33 miners? “Losing hope: we don’t want a tomb” (August
[…] facing the tragedy, the first reaction is of 21st, 2010, Headline International, p. 1)
horror” (August 10th, 2010, p. 3)

“rescue plans overshadowed by thumping rock in “Could there be any super-survivors?” (August
th
the disaster zone” (August 16 , 2010, p. 22) 21st, 2010, International, p. 2)

In the first instance, our analysis indicated that
the media’s selection of language denoted the
fatal consequences of the accident and the
improbability of finding the men alive. Words
such as, buried, trapped, tragedy, survivors,
horror, risk, fail and tombs, were used in the
Chilean and Spanish papers. As the paper with
most immediate access, LUN broadcast the idea
of a potentially fatal outcome and built on this
until the news broke that the 33 men were found
sheltering. El País appears to have fed on the
Chilean paper, developing a similar lexicon and
narrative (see Table 5). Communications to and
from the men were monitored by the Chilean
government and the national press (LUN,
October 12th, 2010, p. 8), and this frame seems
to have carried from national to international
news providers (Jiménez-Martínez, 2010). The
front page of LUN’s special edition of August
23rd, 2010 stated “More alive than ever,” above
a frontal close-up of one of the men from inside
the mine. On the next page, the main headline
read “Heroes do exist” (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Constructions of Heroes: Primary Phase

Source: LUN, August 23rd, 2010, p. 1-2.

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Media Events and Geo-Cultural Markets: Narration and Framing of the 2010 Chilean Mining… 126

Sentence choice here was simple but
particularly strong, as the word ‘hero’ in itself
conveys a concept of wider significance, as
discussed earlier. The paper included a picture
of a handwritten note (which in itself became an
iconic item) written by one of the miners to
confirm their safety: “We are well in the shelter,
the 33.” (Figure 3). This was not the only note
recovered at the time, but the fact that it was
short, printed in red ink and had a simple and
solid message made it the ideal symbol of
heroic action. On the same date, El País
headlined its international section “Traced
alive: the 33 miners buried for 17 days in
Chile.” (El País, August 23rd, 2010) It also
mentioned the recovered note, as if the men had
been sending signals from the great beyond, as
well as referring to bravery and courage. The
selected language from these quotes dispelled
any conception of the miners as ordinary
people, presenting them instead as a group that
had achieved something that others might not
(Table 6).

Table 6. Constructions of Heroes: Primary Phase

Source: LUN

“33 miners’ ingenuity to win over tragedy” (August 23rd, 2010, Cover p. 1)

“Miners sent message certifying they are alive” (August 23rd, 2010, Cover p. 1)

Source: El País

“written in strong red letters: we are well in the shelter the 33”; “at 700 meters underground, miners
are unhurt” (August 23rd, 2010, International, p. 1)

Source: La Jornada

“Miners surprised the world after sending life signals” (August 24th, 2010, World, p. 40)

In another characteristic move in the primary publications referred to survival strategies,

stages of building heroic characters, the papers
developed a narrative concerning the conditions
under which ordinary workers had managed to
survive the mine collapse. As it is widely
known that working in a mine carries risks, it
can be assumed that if this event had led to
casualties or deaths, the news coverage would
have been quite different. However, once the
miners were found safe, the media classified
them as survivors of a catastrophe and began to
build on this idea. In doing so, the three
leadership, and organization. Examples in LUN
highlighting organized and strategic work
referred to “surviving [eating] two spoons of
tuna every 48 hours” (LUN, August 24th, 2010,
p. 3). El País consolidated this approach: “in
temperatures of 35 degrees and 98 % humidity,
miners collected water from the shelter’s roof”
(El País, August 23rd, 2010, International, p. 2).
Both papers adopted this narrative to offer
lengthy explanations of the men’s efforts.
Although La Jornada echoed this approach,

Global Media Journal México 15(29). julio - diciembre 2018. Pp. 110-136.

references to this frame were less prominent
and did not necessarily appear in headlines or
th
captions. On August 24 , however, they
included a quote similar to that in LUN:
“…surviving thanks to two spoons of tuna and
a half glass of milk—every 48 hours” (La
th
Jornada, August 24 , 2010, Mundo, p. 41).
Secondary Phase: Developing Roles and
Personas
It might be disputed that newspapers use the
word ‘hero’ and ‘heroic’ regularly and in
different scenarios. Arguably, there is no way
of measuring how heroism is seen by an
audience; is it the act itself, its impact on others
or its consequences that afford such status? This
may be a subjective matter. According to Johns,
“Heroism has always been a powerful concept.
[…] Heroic virtues could be cultivated […],
heroic actions come from traits of character that
most men (with the right input) have the
potential to develop: the exercise of reason,
standards of morality and admirable self-
discipline.” (1991, p. 4)
When dealing with events such as
disasters, media broadcasters may seek to
present a unified perception of a hero or heroic
model as a means of reaching the wider
population. It appears that
characteristics may be used to
individuals to a heroic role, including bravery,
charisma, leadership (including
making, tenacity and skill),
compassion, visionary ideas, moral beliefs or
principles, integrity, honesty, and fairness. In
this second phase, the three
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Morgner & Molina 127
newspapers shared elements of a perspective on
heroic figures but began to present those
features in a politicized way. Identifying a few
leaders and organizers from the miners’ group,
exemplary references were found repeatedly
and with similar frequency in the Spanish and
Chilean publications, with briefer references in
the Mexican paper, where the reports were
generally shorter.
Apart from the use of descriptive
language, profile-style statements and pictures
of the chosen individuals were also featured.
LUN and El País showed this content as small
bibliographic-style reports of selected miners,
with supporting quotes from relatives about
their personality and likely emotional state. For
instance, on August 26th, LUN dedicated a
whole page to a detailed account of the leading
miners (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Secondary phase: Developing roles
and personas
standard
assign
decision
altruism,
Source: LUN, August, 26th, 2010.
selected
Media Events and Geo-Cultural Markets: Narration and Framing of the 2010 Chilean Mining… 128

El País chose to write about eight of the miners,
giving them nicknames appropriate to their
assigned roles: the veteran, the journalist, the
comedian, the sportsman, the nurse (“capable of
healing his comrades”) (LUN, August 26th,
2010, p. 2) and the spiritual guide (“who has
helped us all immensely”) (El País, August
th
28 , 2010, International). In assigning these
roles, the papers used a lexicon familiar to the
rest of the population, with generally positive
connotations. The use of nicknames and
sobriquets to describe the miners was found
throughout the ‘construction of heroes’ frame in
El País and LUN but not in La Jornada.
The lengthy journey towards rescue
may also have supported the development of
the second phase of this frame, as it afforded the
media scope to dig deeper into the lives and
personae of the chosen miners. As
communication with the miners became more
frequent, thanks to the possibility of video
recording and exchanges of letters, more could
be learned and reported about the miners’
characters and personalities. Their positive
qualities and disposition appealed to the
audience and generated a closeness with the
men (Table 7), who had managed to resist
despair in spite of the extreme conditions.

Table 7: Constructions of Heroes: Secondary Phase

Source: LUN

“Miner who wrote the note must be very strong and energetic, in just a few words he was able to send
such a powerful message” (August 23rd, 2010, p. 2)

“We knew Mario was helping, that is just his spirit and temper” (August 23rd, 2010, p. 3)

‘The poet, Victor Zamora, sends poetic writings to the surface in a wet paper” (September 4th, 2010,
p. 4)

“Luis is a great son and person […] he had to assume a lot of responsibility since very young”
(October 14th, 2010, p. 2)

Source: El País

“I admire the sense of humour of Sepulveda, […] as he installed the video system among the rubble
and debris” (October 9th, 2010, International)

“Luis is a very special person; without his collaboration, a different story would be told” (October
10th, 2010, International, p. 4)

“Urzúa was the key man in maintaining discipline and harmony during the time they were
incommunicado” (October 10th, 2010, International, p. 4)

Source: La Jornada

“Although miners expect a long wait until their rescue, they are calm and high-spirited “(October
10th, 2010, World, p. 25)

The argument here is not about whether or not the media exaggerates their usage to keep
the men had valuable ethical qualities but how audiences interested. This can be a difficult

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task, and reporting on the same event over a
period of time needs to be captivating. In
journalistic practice, proximity, familiarity,
timing, and locality are well-established criteria
for audience engagement (Graber, 2009). The
papers acted as ‘gatekeepers’ (Shoemaker &
Vos, 2009), feeding readers a continuous
stream of insightful stories to develop the
relationship with the men, sharing their
experiences at a more intimate level. In the
Hispanic geo-cultural market in question, this
‘construction of heroes’ frame was shaped in
the second phase by creating an acquaintance
between miners and the public. This was more
pronounced in the Chilean and Spanish
newspapers and occurred to a lesser extent in
La Jornada.
Final Phase: Heroes are Born
As the rescue day drew closer and the operation
took effect, the ‘construction of heroes frame’
took root in the three newspapers. From being
ordinary men, the 33 were about to be reborn
from the center of the earth as heroes. As
previously discussed, heroes are part of social
creation. Dermenjian, Guilhaumou, and Lapied
(2004) elaborate that a hero’s story is told and
changes throughout time, it serves different
purposes of memory and propaganda with a
view into diverse social, political or religious
evolutions. Within the Hispanic geo-cultural
market, politicized heroic icons seem important
in various ways. Here, we use the word
politicized in a broader sense to refer to the
power struggles and collective decision-making
processes that transpire outside government
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Morgner & Molina 129
power structures (see Beck, 2008). Chile,
Spain, and Mexico share a cultural background,
and throughout their history, a series of so-
called ‘heroic’ characters have informed the
making of their imaginary communities,
including Father Hurtado, Pelé, Simón Bolívar,
Emiliano Zapata and Evita Perón.
Unsurprisingly, then, the media drew on this
construction in the event of this disaster; regular
workers, to whom many could relate, made a
nation proud by staying alive under harsh
conditions. The already developed resonance of
imminent rescue was fresh in the public mind
and was about to reach its climax.
Consolidation of the frame could be
seen in all three publications, shaping their
reports within the same narrative. People
received the miners as heroes, but in the final
stages, this developed within a strongly
politicized context that compared them to
existing icons. Equivalent language features
could be found between the newspapers,
beginning with LUN, which employed
qualifying adjectives such as great, greatest,
admirable, delight and super to consolidate the
miners’ personas.
Further examples emerged in LUN’s
24-page special edition, named Fenix, as a
metaphoric reference to the ‘rebirth’ of the 33.
Simply but boldly, its cover page read “Super
Mario,” above a photograph of a euphoric
miner exiting the mine. The paper went on to
supply detailed fact file-style information on
each of the miners—now heroes—on several
dedicated pages, calling them “Chile’s most
courageous” (LUN, October 13th, 2010, pp. 1-
14). Central to each report were quotes gathered
Media Events and Geo-Cultural Markets: Narration and Framing of the 2010 Chilean Mining… 130

directly from the protagonists, as reporters
gained access to the men soon after their rescue.
In shaping this ‘heroes are born’ phase, the
chosen quotes seemed to invoke a level of
patriotic clichés: “I’m a miner at heart; it’s in
my blood,” (as reportedly said by Alex Vega)
or “Victor Zamora: more than co-workers, now
I have brothers.” (LUN, October 15th, 2010, p.
6) There were also many references to people
celebrating in the streets, singing the national
anthem, waving flags and chanting allocutions,
almost as if the men had returned victorious
from an epic battle.

Table 8. Constructions of Heroes: Final phase

Source: El Pais

“Long live (Hurray) Chile, long live (Hurray) the miners!” (August 28th, 2010, International, p. 1)

“Trapped miners close to their ‘D-Day’” (October 8th, 2010, International, p. 4)

“[…] Chilean miners are symbols of national pride” (October 12th, 2010, International, p. 2)

“[…] the only truth: 33 men escaped death (October 14th, 2010, International, p. 8)

“Inside the mine, a flag was left with a2 message: mission accomplished” (October 14th, 2010,
International, p. 2)

Source: La Jornada

“[…] miners close to completing their feat” (October 12th, 2010, World, p. 29)

“[…] euphoric welcome to miners throughout epic journey” (October 13th, 2010, Politics, p. 5)

“Amid clapping, cheering and the singing of the national anthem (the miners were received)”
(October 13th, 2010, Politics, p. 5)

“Fantastic! Miners’ feat was watched by thousands of millions” (October 13th, 2010, Front cover)

Both El País and La Jornada settled on a
miners-heroes-patriots narrative, as in
“Trapped Chilean miners close to their ‘D-
Day’” (El País, October 8th, 2010, International,
p. 4). Comparing the miners’ rescue ordeal to
an event such as D-day, known for its historical
and global repercussions, immersed the
audience in a patriotic ideal, in which the 33
men were perceived primarily as symbolic
soldiers and returning heroes. La Jornada
adopted the same approach, portraying the
miners as emblems of pride; in its edition of
October 13th, coverage of the miners occupied
the front page. “Fantastic!” was the headline
above a photograph of the first worker to reach
the surface. Subsequent captions made
references to the “epic journey the men had to
endure” (La Jornada, October 13th, 2010, pp. 1-
6). As shown in Table 8, words like epic,
mission, nation, pride and feat and phrases such
as long live or hurray prompted the audience to
perceive the event in a particular way. During

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phase two of the frame, the media developed a
representation of the miners; now, in the final
phase, they were consolidated as the people’s
symbolic figures. With this construction of
heroes framing, the media also managed to
engender a homogenous concept of hero that
was ultimately shared within the Hispanic geo-
cultural market.
Differences in the Construction of Heroes
Frame
On reviewing the construction of heroes’ frame,
the framing was found to comprise initial,
developmental and concluding phases. In a
significant difference during the second phase,
La Jornada seemed to have skipped the roles
and personas phase to accommodate other
frames or indeed altogether different news
items. However, the phases were in general
well demarcated across the newspapers and
throughout coverage of the event. Only a few
additional stories could be identified, indicating
different perspectives between the three
countries in the selected geo-cultural market.
To sustain the ‘hero’ narrative, LUN
went on to deliver a series of additional
supporting articles, including praise and
acclaim from the social media community via
portals such as Facebook or Twitter. Local and
international celebrities contributed,
reinforcing the idea that the miners’ ordeal and
survival transcended local boundaries and
projected their status as heroic and worthwhile
individuals. Although these stories were not
discussed in La Jornada or El País, La Jornada
commented briefly on the miners’ record of
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Morgner & Molina 131
survival underground, echoing what the
Chilean paper had reported on a couple of
occasions.
On the other hand, El País featured a
story that did not appear in LUN or La Jornada.
Its headline on October 10th read ‘The day in
which the miners defied their leader,’ followed
by the subheading “The rebellion against the
boss […] kept secret” (El País, October 10th,
2010, International, p. 2). The following day, a
reprint was issued. It might be argued that as an
external provider, El País favored news items
that included an element of drama and
sensationalism to entertain their audience. As a
Chilean national paper, LUN might have
deemed this story controversial, as it implied
defiance of the leadership role of one miner.
However, this did not jeopardize the explicit
construction of iconic figures within the frame
in the Spanish publication, instead supporting
the perceived importance of the politicized
hero.
Media Events and Geo-Cultural Markets
This research has explored media coverage of
the 2010 Chilean mining disaster from the
perspective of geo-cultural markets. Limiting
the scope of this paper to two mainframes, their
interrelation and their role in the Hispanic
world, we considered their impact on media
coverage of the event. As noted earlier, these
were not the only frames in play; other strong
frames included: ‘Hi-Tech frame’, dealing with
the technological and mechanical aspects of the
Media Events and Geo-Cultural Markets: Narration and Framing of the 2010 Chilean Mining… 132
miners’ rescue; the ‘Politicians as Celebrities’
frame, relating to the portrayal and public
perceptions of public figures during the event;
the ‘Life Under’ frame, involving regular
descriptions of the facilities, resources
deployed and the conditions experienced by the
miners throughout their time underground; the
‘Morals and Responsibility’ frame, concerning
the communities’ search for answers,
accountability and closure and their
relationship with mundane and divine beliefs.
Other cultural aspects of the Hispanic geo-
cultural market were highlighted, including the
roles of men and women, depictions of
femininity and masculinity and sexism. The
analysis also addressed the possibility that some
of the frames could be said to have positive or
negative connotations, suggesting that more
research is needed to deliver a more traditional
media frame analysis. Here, the identification
of frames related to the dynamic of media
events and their embedding in a geo-cultural
market. In this context, three interrelated
questions addressed the framing of this event
within a geo-cultural market, raising the
question of how this accident became a media
event.
We believe that the concept of geo-
cultural markets provides an appropriate
theoretical background to guide our empirical
research and formulate relevant answers. The
transformation of the accident into a media
event was based on the introduction of the ‘love
frame.’ While this frame was initially a very
local set-up and therefore attracted only media
from Chile, it was soon reinforced and
supported through embedding in a world of
Global Media Journal México 15(29). julio - diciembre 2018. Pp. 110-136.
shared feelings, personal relationships and
intimacy, based on a cultural reading of the
event that constructed the Hispanic world as a
family or community. The love-frame
simulated a connection or dialogue through
which people could relate to the event,
imagining a brother, son, husband or father in a
similar situation. Beyond being a context to
which the media coverage could be extended,
the geo-cultural market was itself a feature in
the formation of the media event, as the
transnational and transcultural dimension
became part of the narrative. However, the
findings suggest that this transnational
dimension cannot be grasped simply in terms of
homogeneity or repetition. The framework was
open both to localization and to presenting
emotions in a more national or regional context.
This function of the geo-cultural
market was also evident in the other important
frame of the event: the heroes frame. The
miners were not heroes in the sense of having
some superpower; instead, they were associated
with iconic images in the history of the
Hispanic world, as ordinary men who can
overcome the challenges of their immediate
environment to become larger than life figures.
This politicized reading presented the miners as
being above cultural differences, symbolizing a
cultural interpretation that transcends cultural
borders because, according to the media
coverage, it is shared by all people across the
Hispanic world. This function of the geo-
cultural market as a source of
internationalization is often overlooked in
research on media flows. Media flows are often
analyzed from the perspective of the world
 Morgner & Molina 133

system dividing the world into center and
periphery and thereby disregarding such
transnational flows (see Chang, 1998).
The results of this analysis also indicate
that, during the early stages, most of the frames
deployed originate in the vicinity of an event
rather than from external broadcasters. As
compared to the development of framing
material in Mexico and Spain, it was clear that
the initial frames from Chile sought to portray
a specific view of the event that was then
acknowledged by the other countries, with
some adjustments to suit their target audiences.
This finding has implications for further
research on the socio-historical construction of
geo-cultural markets through transnational
media events of this kind. The semantics of the
Latin-American and Hispanic World cannot
merely be seen to have evolved in almost
natural fashion through mere proximity and
similar languages. Instead, the formation of
such imaginary communities relates much more
to their constructions of meaning (Anderson,
1991). Research on the rise of nation-states has
acknowledged the importance of the media as a
critical element in such imagined communities
(see Madianou, 2005); we would now add that
such transnational events may influence the
formation of geo-cultural markets. This
suggests that further research might usefully
address other events that have attracted
similarly intense media coverage in this
region—for instance, the opening of the
Panama Canal or the Cuban missile crisis.
Another significant finding is that
systematic and combined use of the frames was
needed to sustain audience interest. Across the
coverage of this event, La Jornada, El País and
LUN were seen to deploy the identified frames
in their reports regularly. The analysis further
confirmed that the frames identified in the three
publications largely reflected shared cultural
factors across the three nations. Most of the
language, style, and content of news items
suggested that the frames were to some extent
equivalent. This makes sense as an indication
that geo-cultural markets are firmly grounded in
identifiable elements and contexts that connect
individual nations.

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